Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Inlet Private Wealth LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Inlet Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,094 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 4.9% of Inlet Private Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Inlet Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 667,987,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $281,035,506,000 after buying an additional 3,078,099 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,920,047,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 83,571,070 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,160,020,000 after purchasing an additional 842,884 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,381,692 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,544,532,000 after purchasing an additional 403,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,640,068 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,096,428,000 after purchasing an additional 360,171 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $433.51 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $420.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $424.50. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,843,807.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.